The Centre's new guidelines for coaching classes have caused anxiety and confusion among the class owners in the city, as they seek more information about the scope of these directives and whether they will be enforced in the state.
Centre's new guideline confuse coaching class owners
The class owners are unsure if the guidelines are specifically meant for the coaching institutes that train students for medical and engineering entrance exams or if they encompass all types of tuition and class owners. They have also objected to some of the key provisions in the guidelines including a prohibition on enrolling school students, having one square meter space per student, and restrictions on fees.
Citing the 'rising' incidents of student suicide, fires and 'lack of facilities' at private coaching centres, the Department of Higher Education under the Union Ministry of Education on Thursday issued a slew of guidelines to regulate these institutes. These directives provide for mandatory registration of coaching institutes, prohibits classes from employing teachers without graduation degrees, making misleading promises and enrolling students below 16 or those who are yet to clear class 10 exams.
While the document doesn't specify how and when these guidelines will be enforced, it says that considering that regulation of +2 level education is the responsibility of state and Union Territory (UT) governments, coaching classes are best regulated by them. In 2018, the state government had initiated a process to bring in a law to regulate coaching classes. While a draft bill named Maharashtra Private Tuitions (Regulation) Act was prepared, it got stuck due to objections from class owners over some of its provisions.
"All stakeholders should be given a voice"
Chandresh Fooria, a veteran of the coaching industry, said that it's unclear how a singular policy will cover the entire country. “I believe all stakeholders should be given a voice, as they might have a better solution. Something happening in Kota, where students prepare for one of the toughest entrance exams, can't be the basis for preparing policy for the entire country... It's still a welcome move but it can't be abruptly put in place,” he said.
Prajesh Trotsky, president of Maharashtra Class Owners' Association, said that they would oppose these rules if they were implemented in their current form. “Some of the norms such as having one square meter space per student are very stringent and are not feasible, especially in the city. some institutes are charging exorbitant fees, everyone can't be painted with the same brush,” he said.
